Man gets life for killing ex's boss at flea market

March 5, 2008|By Stephen Hudak, Sentinel Staff Writer

TAVARES -- An angry boyfriend who shot and killed his ex-girlfriend's boss at a Mount Dora flea market pleaded guilty Tuesday to second-degree murder, part of a plea agreement that will put him in prison for the rest of his life.

Prosecutors said they were not likely to win a death-penalty judgment against Mark "Buzzy" Pavlasek, 48, whose defense lawyers had raised questions about his psychiatric health.

Pavlasek went to Renninger's in Mount Dora on Dec. 2, 2006, armed and in search of his ex-girlfriend, Shelley Tercher.

He instead shot her boss, Robert "Carl" Dixon, 55, of Orlando, after Dixon shooed Pavlasek away from his grocery stand because Pavlasek was pestering Tercher. She had broken off a 15-year relationship with Pavlasek on Oct. 15, his birthday.

"Mr. Dixon stood in the way of Buzzy getting his revenge," Assistant State Attorney Bill Gross said Tuesday, outlining the case to Circuit Judge Mark Hill.

Pavlasek, who lived in the Pine Lakes area, will not be sentenced until March 28, a delay arranged to accommodate Dixon's family members who were unable to attend Tuesday's hearing.

Gross said he received approval from the family and Lake County detectives before extending the offer to Pavlasek.

"The agreement offers the family the certainty of a life sentence with no chance for parole," Gross said. "He'll die in prison."

He nodded when asked if he understood that he was giving up his right to appeal.

Pavlasek sparked a panic at the crowded weekend flea market when he shot Dixon in the back of the head and then chased Tercher with a gun, firing once and missing her. Deputies said he tried firing a second time but the weapon jammed.

Tercher and other vendors then wrestled the gun from him.

Pavlasek brooded for weeks and talked about killing Tercher after she left him, according to former neighbors in the Pine Lakes area.

Deputies said he even rigged an eyeglass case with explosives and projectiles intended for her.